A former Dartmouth basketball player was indicted on several counts last week, stemming from an alleged rape in Point Pleasant, New Jersey.
Peter James "P.J." Halas '98 was charged with sexually assaulting a 15-year-old female student at Point Pleasant Borough High School, where Halas worked as a history teacher and athletic coach.
The crimes allegedly occurred over a four-month period, starting in April and lasting through this month.
The 29-year-old resident of Manasquan Borough, N.J. was a captain of the men's basketball team at Dartmouth and a member of Theta Delta Chi fraternity. He received his bachelors degree majoring in government.
Former Dartmouth men's basketball coach, Dave Faucher, told The Dartmouth in 1996 that Halas was a valuable player.
"P.J. is our best shooter and one of the top shooters in the Ivy League," Faucher said. "He has a thorough knowledge of how to play and is a very important piece to our puzzle. He is also one of the nicest people I have ever met."
Halas was arrested at his home on July 15 by the Point Pleasant Police Department and the Family Protection Unit of the Ocean County, N.J. prosecutor's office.
He was held in the Ocean County jail on Saturday evening and released Sunday on $100,000 bail.
The investigation began after worried citizens learned of the alleged assaults on the teenager and contacted Point Pleasant Police.
In addition to the first-degree charge of aggravated sexual assault, Halas also faces second-degree charges of official misconduct and endangering the welfare of a child.
Halas had been teaching in the Point Pleasant School District for two years.
Point Pleasant Board of Education Superintendent Robert Ciliento told the Asbury Park Press that Halas's employment will be either suspended or terminated as soon as the school board receives a copy of the complaint from the police.
Halas, who coached boys' golf and basketball at Point Pleasant Borough High School, comes from a prominent family of coaches and athletes.
His great uncle, George Halas, was the founder and owner of the Chicago Bears. He coached the team for 40 seasons amassing 324 wins -- the second most of all-time.
The suspect is also the nephew of Wally Halas, a former basketball coach at Columbia University; the grandson of Pete Halas, who served as the Chicago Bears' scout for 25 years; and the great-grandson of Walter Halas, who was Knute Rockne's backfield coach at Notre Dame.
Halas's father, a pediatrician in Sea Girt, N.J., hung a Nerf basketball hoop in his son's incubator to encourage him to follow in the family's prestigious athletic tradition.
Halas was recruited by the Dartmouth men's basketball team. While serving as the team's captain, Halas held an exemplary record and is credited with having led the Dartmouth team to several victories, including a win against the then-undefeated University of Pennsylvania team in 1996. According to an article published in The Dartmouth that year, he was admired both on and off the court, and was as dedicated a student as he was an athlete.
Currently, Halas awaits trial on all charges concerning the alleged sexual assualt. If convicted, he faces 10 to 20 years in prison.
